Leaders from the Panasonic Foundation and Panasonic Corporation of North America were joined by over 100 community stakeholders and state and local officials at the company’s North American headquarters in Newark recently to celebrate 40 years of philanthropic work aimed at increasing educational opportunities for disadvantaged students.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten was the keynote speaker at the July 19 event marking the Panasonic Foundation’s four decades of helping bridge educational inequities through strategic investments in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Marten emphasized the importance of investing in youth and advancing educational equity and workforce readiness.
While STEM jobs are expected to increase by nearly twice the rate of other jobs in the next 10 years, women and racial minorities remain largely unrepresented across the sector. Inspired by Panasonic’s founding vision that business is ultimately for the betterment of society, the Foundation uses collaborative partnerships and strategic grants to provide new generations, particularly those from historically underserved communities, with more equitable and inclusive pathways for participating in the innovation economies of the future.
The 40th anniversary celebration included a live painting experience by muralist Juan Oquendo and a student spoken word performance from Amya Martinez, youth poet and 2024 Poetry Out Loud Winner from NJPAC Youth Arts.
Ahead of the celebration, the Panasonic Foundation, in collaboration with NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace, hosted the “A Space for All ’24” event at the Newark Museum of Art for local students grades 5-8. The event aimed to inspire and engage students and communities by giving them a unique opportunity to explore cutting-edge technologies.
Students learned about the role of robots in space exploration, before designing and constructing their own grapple fixture for a robotic arm. They also built and tested a solar rover kit to better understand how space exploration will harness and use solar energy.
“It was an honor to come together with our community partners, Panasonic employees and the Deputy Secretary to reflect on all we have achieved together over the past 40 years, propelled by our longstanding culture of innovation, exploration, experimentation, and constant learning,” said Alejandra Ceja, executive director of the Panasonic Foundation.
“However, this event was as much about looking ahead as looking back, as we recognize that there is still much work to be done to ensure that every student can contribute to the innovation economies of the future,” Ceja said. “A child can’t envision a future they don’t know exists. We remain more committed than ever to our mission to bridge the divide between the educational inequities that exist today and the opportunities of tomorrow, securing brighter futures for our communities, our business and our world.”
Other speakers included Megan Myungwon Lee, Panasonic North America CEO and chairwoman, and Stephanie Yeldell, Space Technology STEM Education lead, at NASA.
